Another Penny Drops
by ChiaraHhue
Summary: Carson Beckett discovers that his friend Radek Zelenka is falling for Atlantis' Head Chef, Alex Ramsey. This is a companion piece to Reefgirl's 'Cooking with Blue MarySue'


**TITLE – Another Penny Falls**

**DISCLAIMER –** I do not own Stargate: Atlantis or any of the characters. Additionally, Alex Ramsey is the creation of Reefgirl who has kindly allowed me to use her.

**PAIRING – **Beckett/Zelenka friendship.

**RATING –**T for a bit of bad language and a minor (but well deserved) incident of Kavanaugh whumping

**SPOILERS –** None for the series, this is Reefgirl's AU

**SUMMARY --** Carson Beckett discovers that his friend Radek Zelenka is falling for Atlantis' Head Chef, Alex Ramsey. This is a companion piece to Reefgirl's 'Cooking with Blue Mary-Sue; if you haven't already, go read it now!

**A/N:** I'm a big fan of Reefgirl's 'Cooking with Blue Mary-Sue" and it inspired me to write this little fic. I love Zelenka and after seeing the hilarious scene in "Allies" where he and Beckett team up to explain the retro virus gas to the Wraith scientist, I figured these two would make a good pair of buds.

No beta but looking for one!

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With the safe return of the last away teams, Carson had the unprecedented luxury of an empty infirmary. As a matter of fact, the only patient he'd treated all week was Kavanaugh.

And while the scientist had been most vocal about suffering the indignity of being punched in the nose, he had been downright evasive about how it happened. Not that the doctor had been shocked – all things considered, he was surprised someone hadn't landed the arrogant bastard a facer long before. But it was curious that Kavanaugh, of all people, wasn't eager to report the person who had broken his nose.

Adding to the mystery was the latest rumor that it had happened in the physics lab.

I'll wager Radek knows something about it, he mused. Shutting down his computer for the night, he rose and left his office in search of his friend.

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"Radek!" Carson knocked on the door sharply. "Are you still up?"

As he raised his fist to knock again, the door slid open so silently and quickly that Radek had to jump back to avoid getting rapped on his forehead.

"Och, sorry lad," Carson said sheepishly. "I still can't get used to how fast these doors open."

"They can be quite annoying, yes?" He smiled in welcome as he ushered Carson into his quarters.

"Aye, I was chatting with Chief Ramsey the other day. She said when she first got here she accidentally flashed a young marine who'd been sent to knock on her door early one morning." Carson chuckled. "Needless to say, she wears a bathrobe to answer the door now."

"She…f-flashed…?"

Carson nodded, grinning as he whipped opened his lab coat. "Aye, flashed the laddie good, by all accounts." He paused, his grin fading as he noticed the other man's distracted manner. "Radek…is something wrong?"

"No, no." He cleared his throat self-consciously and adjusted his glasses. "I…ah…didn't know she slept without…I mean…not that it's any of my business, of course…or that I even think about…such…things…" his voice trailed off into a strangled noise that sounded suspiciously like a Czech expletive. Turning abruptly, he busied himself gathering glasses and snacks.

Puzzled, Carson stared at his friend for a moment, then shrugged and wandered over to sit on the small couch. Spying an unusual bottle on the low table he leaned forward to examine it.

"Is this the local brandy you got on that last trading mission?" he asked hopefully.

"Yes, it's quite good. Would you like some?"

"Aye! I'm fair tired of that American beer the Daedalus keeps bringing us."

Radek murmured sympathetically as he set down two tiny glasses, a bowl of snacks and joined him on the couch. Picking up the bottle, he carefully poured a small amount of the brandy into each glass.

The doctor nodded his thanks and lifting the glass, eyed the brilliant blue liquid warily. He sniffed, then cautiously sipped it. The fragrance was vaguely spicy and the taste sharp as it evaporated on his tongue. Seeing his friend toss his drink back, Carson followed suit.

Radek's hand shot out just in time to grab Carson's sleeve and keep him from tipping over.

"Sweetmotherof god," he wheezed. He put his hand over his heart to assure himself that it was still beating. "I feel like I've been hit by a Wraith stunner!"

"Good stuff, yes?"

Carson watched in astonishment as the smaller man tossed back another drink. "How can you do that?" he croaked.

"Compared to what my Onkle Cheb made, this is nothing," he said with a shrug as he refilled both their glasses.

Gingerly sipping his drink, Carson wondered if this uncle were still alive and if so, could his homemade brew possibly be converted into an alternate fuel source. He opened his mouth to ask when something caught his eye.

"Radek, what happened to your hand?"

"Nothing."

"Radek," he said sternly, in his best doctor voice. "Let me see your hand."

The scientist sighed in resignation and grudgingly let Carson examine it. "I….hit something," he offered, his eyes avoiding the doctor's.

"Let me guess…something long and pointy? Something that tends to poke into other peoples' business?"

Radek tightened his jaw and nodded curtly.

"And was this something attached to Kavanaugh's face?"

Radek snorted derisively. "He is a weasel."

Carson shook his head. "Be that as it may, it still doesn't justify breaking his nose."

"Really?" he asked, brightening. "I broke his nose?"

"Aye, and there's no cause to sound so pleased about it." He watched the other man nod glumly and then drain the last of the blue liquid from his glass.

"Oot with it now," he coaxed, taking the glass from his hand. "We're friends, aye?"

Radek tilted his head and peered over his glasses. "Just between us, yes?"

"Well, Kavanaugh's not reported the incident so I see no need to either."

"He won't, the coward is too embarrassed."

"Embarrassed? About what?"

"One, that I – a smaller man – punched him in the nose and two, to add insult to injury, everyone in the lab cheered when I did it."

The corners of Carson's mouth twitched. "So that was the effect…now are you going to tell me the cause?"

Radek squirmed and nervously pushed his glasses up. "He was rude."

"To you?"

"No."

"To one of your colleagues in the lab?"

"No."

Carson waited patiently, wondering where this was going.

Radek cleared his throat. "He is jealous, you see."

"Aye, I know. He's always been jealous of your position as secondary head scientist…"

"No, not that…" he clasped his hands together and took a deep breath. "He is jealous of the attention I get from Chief Alex for fixing things in the kitchen.

Carson blinked in disbelief. "What?"

Radek's hands fluttered in agitation. "He has been flirting with her since she got here but she ignores him. And it was bad enough when he found out that Rodney had assigned me to run weekly systems check on the kitchen but when I wouldn't share the treats she gives me for fixing things for her, he started making my life hell! He took every opportunity to belittle my work in front of Rodney and then had the nerve to write a memo to Dr. Weir about it. "

"Ah, I see. So that's when you hit him?"

"No, no," he waved a hand dismissively. "Kavanaugh is always writing such memos."

"So what was the final straw?"

"He started making rude comments about Chief Alex!"

"You broke his nose because he insulted our chief?" Carson sat back in surprise.

Radek lowered his eyes. "Perhaps I overreacted."

"Did you ever consider that Kavanaugh's obsession with sweets was more than likely the reason for him playing up to Chief Ramsey?"

Carson watched as his friend groaned and buried his face in his hands. Reaching over, he patted him on the back, pausing as suddenly things fell into place.

"You like her," he stated.

Radek froze beside him, muttering in Czech.

"You like her!" he repeated, grinning widely and giving him a resounding thump on his back.

"Yes, yes," He sputtered, trying to bat Carson's hand away. "But she doesn't like me…at least not in that way!"

"What?" The doctor drew his eyebrows together in confusion. "By your own account, you two get along famously….and she's always making you treats and feeding you when you're in her kitchen."

"She is very kind, yes, but she just treats me like a friend." He shook his head sadly. "It's Major Lorne she likes in that way."

"Major…Lorne?"

"They are always joking and flirting!"

"But…"

"And every time I stop by the kitchen…there he is as well!"

"But…"

"And he is tall and fit and handsome…how can I compete?"

Carson pursed his lips thoughtfully. While he didn't doubt that the major genuinely liked Chief Ramsey, he had his suspicions that what attracted Lorne to the kitchen had more to do with the chief's assistant, Mick than the chief herself.

But on the other hand, the thought of the tough-talking chief and the gentle-natured scientist seemed a long shot at best.

Picking up the bottle of brandy, he poured a small amount into both glasses and handed one to Radek.

"Don't give up, my friend. When it comes to women, there's just no way to know how their minds work."

The other man nodded in commiseration.

"Yes, they are life's eternal mystery." He drained his glass and leaned back. "Although," he added, holding up a finger." My Onkle Cheb had a theory about women."

Carson chuckled and settled back into the couch to sip his drink and enjoy the animated story, complete with hand gestures and sound effects. Smiling fondly at his friend, he began to think that perhaps that long shot wasn't quite so impossible after all.


End file.
